American violinist Andrew Sords is recognized internationally for his performances combining visceral virtuosity and ravishing tone. Hailed in the press as “a fully formed artist” (Kalisz-Poland News), “utterly radiant” (Canada’s Arts Forum), and “exceptionally heartfelt and soulful” (St. Maarten’s Daily Herald), Sords has received numerous awards and distinctions reflecting his career trajectory, including the Pittsburgh Concert Society’s Career Grant and the NFMC Young Artist Award.
Born in Newark, Delaware, Sords began piano lessons at the age of 5, followed shortly by violin studies with Liza Grossman. Sords became a pupil of Linda Cerone, David Russell, and Chee-Yun Kim at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Southern Methodist University, and a series of international invitations helped catapult a solo career that has since spanned 4 continents and over 200 orchestras.
Andrew Sords has appeared regularly with celebrated orchestras and conductors. In recent seasons, concerto collaborations have included the Oakland Symphony, Windsor Symphony, Kalisz Philharmonic, Chattanooga Symphony, Cleveland Philharmonic, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, North State Symphony, Toronto Philharmonia, Gulf Coast Symphony and Melbourne Chamber Symphony, among numerous others. Sords has worked with myriad conductors including Robert Franz, Michael Morgan, Sidney Harth, Mario Mateus, Carl Topilow, Scott Seaton, Luis Biava, and Matthew Kraemer. A recent outdoor performance of the Tchaikovsky concerto with the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra was heard by an estimated audience of 30,000. A prolific recitalist, Sords has appeared in St. Croix, San Miguel de Allende, Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and has an upcoming tour of the Mendelssohn Piano Trios and Violin Sonata in Toronto, Buffalo, Guelph, and Kitchener-Waterloo. As a frequent soloist in the Caribbean, Sords has appeared in Puerto Rico, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Grand Cayman, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a recent series of performances with the Trinidad and Tobago Youth Philharmonic was profiled by "STRINGS MAGAZINE". At a hometown appearance in Cleveland, Ohio, the press enthused: “Sords impressed with his total command of technique, consummate musicianship and bravura as he tossed of scads of notes and sang out like a diva.” (Cleveland Classical)
Sords has appeared regularly as a guest on the festival circuit including summer appearances in Fairbanks, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and the Republic of Georgia with Liana Isakadze's World Virtuosi. With Ms. Isakadze's ensemble, Sords appears in Carnegie Hall's Zankel Hall and at the Verbier Festival (Switzerland). Future engagements include appearances for the EMMA Recital Series and Norton Museum Series (Florida); Brahms and Tchaikovsky trios with John Walz and Timothy Durkovic in Los Angeles; the Dvorak Violin Concerto at Toronto's famed Glenn Gould Theatre; and concerto debuts in Morocco and Scotland. With pianist Elizabeth DeMio, Sords has presented sonata cycle evenings of Brahms and Schumann, and installments of the complete Beethoven violin/piano oeuvre are forthcoming.
A man of diverse interests, Sords competed in the charity fundraiser “Pittsburgh’s Dancing With The Stars” as the first classical artist to do so. Sords has performed numerous times for GLBT outreach, including return appearances with the Minnesota Philharmonic, Atlanta Philharmonic, and on Sirius XM’s Derek and Romaine Show. Additionally, Sords performed the National Anthem for ESPN2’s WNBA Pride Game (2014). Inspired by living composers, Sords is dedicated to introducing works of our times including Joan Tower, Evan Fein, and Stephen Feigenbaum. Sords’s recent collaboration with Sean Christopher on the New-Age album “Transcendence” has been a commercial and critical success, with reviews stating: “much of this is owed to the gorgeous and precise playing of Andrew Sords, whose violin adds a thrumming undercurrent of pure life throughout the album’s stainless steel structure.” This album is available on iTunes, Amazon.com, and CDBaby.
Sords is represented by EMC Artists, Ltd., and makes his home in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
